Queen Sugar Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Freedom's Plow
Christine Orlando
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They’ve had challenges with the farm and the family, but on Queen Sugar Season 2 Episode 8, it was love that was on the line for all of the Bordelon siblings.
Let’s start with Charley.
I ached for Charley during this hour. She’s trying so hard to find herself and rebuild her life.
She’s working on being honest and letting people in – and she’s still taking flack for being an outsider that no one understands.
And I really liked the curls!
Remy: All that stuff you said in the article, not knowing why you're here, finding yourself, not knowing how you feel about the work.
Charley: Honest answers about my adjustment.
Remy: So what are they supposed to think? Their farms are on the line while Charley goes looking for Charley?
It feels as though Charley must fight for acceptance at every turn. Thankfully her assurances at the pot luck were good enough to win over the farmers, but were they good enough for Remy?
Earlier in Queen Sugar Season 2, Remy told Charley how important it was to take the time to mourn her marriage. But now, it felt like he was hurt because she was working on doing just that.
Perhaps Remy was only expecting the emotional fallout from her divorce, not the fact that she would have to deal with the effects on her business, and the publicity that comes from a celebrity divorce.
Like it or not, Charley’s had a lot to juggle, both personally and professionally. What Remy has seen as calculating may have simply been necessary.
Remy’s doubts left Charley reeling, but it also pushed them both to be honest with one another.
Remy: I read your interview and I didn't like it. Why didn't you mention your divorce?
Charley: Micah. Asset protection. But mostly because one of the most important things a woman can control is her own story. I don't want anyone trying to say that you're my rebound guy.
Remy: Come on, Charley. Don't play with me.
Charley: I'm not. I'm not calculating with you. What's real is how I feel about you. Don't you want to be with me?
Remy: I don't know.
Charley: Can you…can you try? I'm asking you to please forgive me for treating you like this, like, like, like this between you and me is a given. But if you just try, if you just, please.
But it’s only been a few months since Charley’s life with Davis imploded. Is she really ready to move on and invest her whole heart with Remy?
As much as I like these two, I think they’re in for a bumpy road ahead.
And Charley doesn’t even know about Micah’s confession to Davis.
I thought that Micah’s outburst at the restaurant was realistic. He’s only 16, and his father’s horrible decisions have turned his life upside down, but I appreciated the way Davis didn’t back down.
Micah: Oh, what, you're like 'Father Knows Best' now? You're like a day late and ten dollars short.
Davis: Maybe, but I'm what you have and I'm here.
It’s good to see Davis step up as a father, but I wonder how he’s going to handle Micah’s revelation.
When Micah started talking about the cop putting him on his knees in some back alley, I didn’t think it was going to end with a gun in his mouth, but I am relieved this story line didn’t go down the road of sexual abuse.
The terrifying image of the gun was more than enough.
Will Davis tell Charley, and if so, what will they do next?
I absolutely want the cop to pay for what he’s done because he’s certainly done it before and will do it again, but the consequences of having Micah come forward are very real.
Being Davis’ son means this story will go nationwide and the press will hound Micah. His life will get ripped apart even more, and his parents will have to contemplate how much more this teenage boy can take.
In Atlanta, Nova got to know Robert’s colleagues – and it wasn’t what she expected.
As much as I hated Timothy North, I wished that Nova would have remained at the table instead of getting up and running away.
Nova knows how to fight intelligently and not back down. I have little doubt that in Timothy’s mind, her exit gave him the win.
Robert’s most valid point was that in getting to know your enemy, you are better able to beat him, and I hope to see Robert and Nova working together because they could make a brilliant team.
Let’s not forget Aunt Vi’s take on it all, with my favorite Queen Sugar quote of the night…
Nova: I'd swear I was sitting across from the devil himself. Thought better of DuBois than being into people like that.
Violet: Did he say he was?
Nova: He told me to hate the game, not the player. I swear every time I think I've found someone…
Violet: Nova, hush. From everything you say about that black man, he's fine, smart, successful, kind. If I was young and single I'd break him in two like a chocolate biscotti.
And as much as I don't want to think it, I do not doubt that Aunt Vi's collapse will lead to something more serious in the near future.
Finally, we get to Darla’s big day.
She’s been clean and sober for two whole years, and that’s a huge accomplishment.
But more than that, I think I was proudest of her for the way she shared her feelings with Charley.
The secret of Ernest's new will wasn’t her story to tell, it was Ralph Angel’s, and I was relieved that Charley could see that after it was spelled out for her.
I loved that Charley showed up at the ceremony with flowers for Darla, especially since she doesn’t seem to have any of her own family to support her.
Earlier, Ralph Angel lamented to Aunt Vi about not being able to reach Charley about the finances for the farm, and I had much the same reaction as Vi.
Ralph Angel: I got bills to take care of around the farm. I need to have a conversation with Charley about what's next.
Violet: What's next? You told her that you would do whatever you needed to do to make it happen. You told her to trust you. I think that conversation's been had.
Ralph Angel: It ain't. It ain't been had. Look, telling them the truth didn't mean they could just drop the farm like that. Plus I still need a payroll check to stay working full time on the farm. I didn't mean everything to…
Violet: You didn't mean. Well, baby, you here now, so what you meant don't matter.
I’m not sure Ralph Angel knew what he wanted when he told them about the will. Maybe he just wanted them to know how much Ernest believed in him, but there will be very real consequences if he wants to take over the farm completely.
The farm may still be in limbo between the siblings, but Charley made it clear that she’s not about to cut off Ralph Angel’s pay check and possibly send him back to jail.
Look, I don't have any definitive answers about the farm, but I'm not losing my baby brother over it.
Charley
It was just good to see these two talking once again and for once, actually listening to one another.
At the sobriety ceremony, Marlene put Ralph Angel on notice. As Darla’s sponsor, she’s looking out for Darla’s best interest, and if Ralph Angel can’t support her life long fight for sobriety, then he needs to step off now.
Instead, Ralph Angel went all in.
Ralph Angel: I don't want to distract you from whatever you think it will take to stay on the right foot. I just want to ride with you, as long as you'll let me do that, and I promise I'll do my best to help you do your best. Always.
Darla: Are you asking me to stay the night.
Ralph Angel: Yeah, yeah, and the next night, and the next night, and the next. I want you in this house, by my side, next to me, for the rest of my life. Darla, will you marry me?
Are Darla and Ralph Angel really ready for marriage? I’m not sure. Is anyone ever really ready?
But as the series is taking a midseason break, we’ll have to tune back in this fall for more of Queen Sugar Season 2.
If you’re already missing the Bordelons, you can watch Queen Sugar online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
